Derrick hand vs driller

The differences between derrick hands and drillers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a derrick hand and a driller. Additionally, a driller has an average salary of $49,896, which is higher than the $38,109 average annual salary of a derrick hand.

The top three skills for a derrick hand include flow lines, tongs and fall protection. The most important skills for a driller are CDL, preventative maintenance, and safety policies.

Derrick hand vs driller overview

	Derrick Hand	Driller
Yearly salary	$38,109	$49,896
Hourly rate	$18.32	$23.99
Growth rate	1%	-
Number of jobs	5,225	1,593
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 62%	High School Diploma, 61%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Derrick hand vs driller salary

Derrick hands and drillers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Derrick Hand	Driller
Average salary	$38,109	$49,896
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $48,000	Between $39,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Nabors Industries
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between derrick hand and driller education

There are a few differences between a derrick hand and a driller in terms of educational background:

	Derrick Hand	Driller
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 62%	High School Diploma, 61%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Derrick hand vs driller demographics

Here are the differences between derrick hands' and drillers' demographics:

	Derrick Hand	Driller
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 97.7% Female, 2.3%	Male, 97.0% Female, 3.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 1.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 1.2% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between derrick hand and driller duties and responsibilities

Derrick hand example responsibilities.

Provide leadership and guidance to direct reports, and manage their efforts to maximize their contribution to operational effectiveness and performance.
strip on bop, go into the derrick, come out of hole with tubing.
Complete first aid and H2S awareness.
Watch H2S levels when on gas locations.
Operate and service the bridge cranes and relate hoisting equipment.
Drill wells, track BHA's tallies, rig equipment and personnel.

Driller example responsibilities.

Manage and perform rig operations, repair large mud pump motors, hoppers, shakers, generators, valves and agitators.
Perform data analysis and provide recommendations to achieve improve performance and accelerate commercialization of Pathmaker (RSS).
Connect sections of drill pipe, using hand tools and power wrenches and tongs.
Assist in the drilling of oil and gas wells as a floor hand operating pipe spinners, tongs, and slips.
School, forklift, and CPR train
Clean and oil pulleys, blocks, and cables.

Derrick hand vs driller skills

Common derrick hand skills

Flow Lines, 15%
Tongs, 9%
Fall Protection, 9%
Drilling Fluid, 7%
Derricks, 5%
Drill Pipe, 5%

Common driller skills

CDL, 26%
Preventative Maintenance, 18%
Safety Policies, 14%
Geotechnical, 10%
Well Control, 3%
CPR, 2%